Lifeline
by siriusly cool48
Summary: Mary's life goes from good to bad in one night. Dangerous people could lurk around any corner. Will she get through it without cracking?
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own ACS, but if I did I would probably take over the world.**

**A/N: This is the embarkment of my first ACS fic, which I like to call Lifeline. I've put my heart and soul into this story for three months trying to make it perfect, writing and rewriting every chance I got, and I sincerely hope that you guys enjoy it as much as I have. :) It is finally completed, and if you guys are good (and if I have time) then I'll post every few days until all the chapters are out. So without further ado, I present my story.**

_0000000000_

"MARY!" Mary awoke with a jolt. She looked at the clock and groaned. Six in the morning. Someone pounded furiously on her door. "Get up! The twins need a good breakfast this morning!"

"Yes, Dominique," Mary called. Once she heard footsteps disappearing down the wooden stairs to her attic bedroom, she hopped out of bed. She pulled on her favorite shirt and jeans and quickly brushed her hair. She saw herself in the mirror and decided she looked presentable. Eighteen year old Mary wasn't the prettiest girl in school, but she thought her clear skin and dark wavy hair helped her appearance a little bit. The just rising sun was dancing in the kitchen when she jogged downstairs to make some eggs and toast.

Suddenly there was a scramble, and Brit and Bree rushed into the kitchen, each screaming something about the other stealing their moisturizer. Mary rolled her eyes. Brit and Bree, the 'princesses' of the house were the most spoiled, petty, and self-centered people she knew. Mary begrudged every moment she had to work for them. Dominique, a washed-up pop star who refused to believe she was closing in on forty, waltzed in after them, some sticky goo plastered all over her face. After Mary's mother had died, Dominique (who had been her boss) took Mary in out of the "kindness" of her heart. Dominique never let Mary forget how she must repay this act of charity, and forced her to work as a servant for this very reason. Dominique's two daughters took after their mother in that making Mary's life miserable was their favorite pastime, besides shopping.

"Girls, I am going clubbing tonight, and I won't be home 'til late. Have Mary make you whatever you want to eat." Dominique turned to Mary. "Here's your list of chores for today. Make sure you do everything on here before you go to bed." Mary took the list and looked on in horror as she realized there were dozens of chores on here. 'Scrub the bathroom tiles,' 'Dust the living room,' 'Tidy the twins' rooms.' This would take her hours! She was not going to get to sleep until the wee hours of the morning, that was for sure.

Mary nodded and looked out the window when she heard a honk. Her ride was here. She stuffed her skateboard into her backpack and grabbed an apple, rushing out the door. Mary's best friend Tami was sitting in her big orange bus; and zoomed off once Mary hopped in. "There's no way I'm gonna be able to finish my homework and all these chores." She showed Tami the list.

Tami swore. "Domi-freak is just getting meaner and meaner, isn't she? Well I guess you're not going to Joey's party either." Mary slapped her forehead with the heel of her hand.

"Oh no! That's today? I completely forgot!" Mary sighed. Joey Parker was a big-time pop star, and surprisingly, her boyfriend. Tami sighed in response.

"Good thing graduation is only a few months away, then you can get out of there and go to Manhattan Dance." Tami smiled. She knew how badly Mary wanted a scholarship into that school.

"Yeah." Tami parked Big Orange in the students' section, and they walked into school as the warning bell rang. Mary shuffled to her locker, only to find Joey leaning against it, grinning down at her.

"Hey Mary." Joey leaned down and kissed Mary on the cheek. "You coming to my party?" Mary sighed as she grabbed her books out of her locker and closed it again. She looked up at him.

"I wish I could say I was, but I can't. Domi-freak's list of demands is miles long." Mary started towards home room, Joey plodding along after her.

"Ugh! She's the worst! That's totally not fair! When am I gonna get a chance to see you?" Joey pretended to pout. Mary halted outside of her classroom, knowing she had a couple minutes still.

"I'm really sorry. I can make it up to you this weekend if you want." Mary grinned. She looked up into Joey's blue eyes. "I had a surprise for you, but I just can't wait to tell you." Joey looked hopeful. "I didn't even tell Tami this yet, but yesterday I got a letter from Manhattan Dance. They say I'm in! I got the scholarship!" Joey laughed out loud.

"That's great Mary!" He lifted her and spun her around. Mary wrapped her arms around his neck and curled her fingers into his wavy brown hair. He grinned and gently pressed his lips to hers. The bell rang, bringing their moment to a halt.

Mary laughed. "Gotta go, Joey. See you soon." Joey waved and jogged off to class.

_0000000000_

"DETENTION!" Mary woke up with a jerk. She peered up into the face of Mr. Becker, her History teacher. "This is the fourth time this week I have caught you sleeping in this classroom. I have had enough! If you're not going to pay attention, then why don't you transfer out of my class?" Mary stared furiously at her shoes, while she heard whispers and giggles going around behind her. "I will see you after school, Miss Santiago."

Maybe if she hadn't had to stay up so late doing chores, then she wouldn't be so tired in school. This is why she needed Joey to tutor her on a daily basis. He had a perfect 4.0 GPA, and he was a patient and creative teacher.

Mary rubbed her forehead. Dominique would kill her for being late again. The last bell rang. "See you in ten minutes, Miss Santiago." Mr. Becker frowned. Mary threw her stuff into her backpack and filed out the door with the other students. She dragged herself to her locker where, not surprisingly, Joey was waiting for her.

"Hey baby." Mary kissed Joey. She pulled away and opened her locker, exchanging her old books for new ones.

"What's wrong, Mary?" Joey's brow creased in concern.

"Oh nothing. I just got detention for sleeping in class again. No biggie." Mary shrugged.

"That sucks." Joey pulled Mary into a big hug. Mary sighed and laid her head on his shoulder.

"I gotta go. Call you tonight." Mary gave Joey one last kiss on the cheek and departed for detention.

_0000000000_

Mary tried to enjoy the feel of the wind on her face as she skateboarded down the street, hurdling towards Dominique's house. She knew that she wouldn't get much freedom after she came home late again, so she probably wouldn't feel like this for a while. Mary had a philosophy about freedom- you weren't truly free unless you could travel around by yourself. If you had to rely on others to take you places, you had to trust in them to get you there safely, to get you there on time, to get you there at all, in fact. But if you could get there yourself, you were truly free, because you were relying on yourself.

Mary pulled into the driveway, took a deep breath, and opened the door. To her surprise, Dominique was not waiting in the foyer to dish out punishment. Actually, Dominique was no where to be seen. Mary tentatively crept through the house, looking out for any sign of Dominique or the twins. When she entered the living room, she came to a halt. What she saw before her made her want to laugh, scream, and hurl all at the same time.

Dominique was sitting on the couch, engaged in what looked like a face-eating war with some guy Mary had never seen before. Before Mary could get out of there without being seen, Dominique suddenly jumped away from the guy (who looked immensely disappointed) like a child caught stealing candy. Then, she apparently remembered just who owned whom in this house, and she put her hands on her hips.

"What are you doing here so late? It's five-thirty for Pete's sake! You were supposed to be home an hour and a half ago to clean my room for company coming over!"

Mary looked at their "company." He was a big guy- maybe six foot four or five- and he had short black hair that he wore in a flat top, like he was in the army. His olive toned skin glistened like he had been sweating (Mary wanted to gag at this realization), and he had an angry expression plastered on his face. Dominique approached Mary and hissed in her ear, "Dennis is going to sell me a record deal, and I don't want you screwing this up!" She leaned away and walked back towards the couch. "Now get out of here and let us get back to talking business like civilized adults." Mary turned to leave. "Oh yeah, one more thing." Mary shut her eyes tight and expected the worst. "You're grounded. Don't ever come home this late again. No privileges for a week."

Mary nodded and ran up to her room as fast as she could. She sunk into her bed and smiled. She guessed Dennis's "attention" had put Dominique in a good mood; she had been expecting much worse. Mary locked her door. She could never be too sure neither of the twins were listening outside of her door- they had been endlessly jealous when Joey asked her out instead of one of them, and they couldn't wait to get her in trouble for any small thing she did. Mary flipped open her phone and pressed Joey's speed dial. It rang a few times before she heard Joey's soothing tenor voice on the other end.

"Hey Mary. How'd it go?"

"I'm only grounded for a week, so not too bad."

"Wow, Domi-freak's in a good mood today."

"Sh-yeah, she was making out with this weird guy when I came home. It was strange in a creepy, disgusting way. Some record producer named Dennis."

"Whoa, Dennis Mackintire? Producer of Mackintire Records?" Joey sounded surprised.

"I don't know; big guy, short black hair, army-material."

"M-hm, that's the guy. Wow, he's a weird one. I think he was arrested a few times. Mary, Promise me something. Just-" Joey halted.

"What is it?"

"Just stay away from him. I'm glad it went well with Domi-freak. I gotta go, love you."

Mary sighed. Back to reality. "Love you too." She hung up. Better get some homework done before she had to make dinner.

_0000000000_

**A/N: ****So what did you guys think? Please tell me!**** Just for future reference, all of my original characters' names have meanings relative to the story, so if you want to know what Dennis' name means, you need to review, then I'll tell you. Ha ha, got you right where I want you. And I know that if you read this that doesn't mean that you'll review. So to avoid this dilemma, just answer me this random question: What's your favorite color? You know what to do. Press that little button right there. Yeah, you're looking at it. Go.**


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: I do not own ACS, but if I did I would probably take over the world.

A/N: I'm so sorry for making you guys wait! I was on vacation, but now that I'm back I can continue updating. Thanks so much for your reviews, they mean a lot to me! Oh and sorry this is so short, it gets better, I promise.

_0000000000_

Sometimes Mary had to wonder: Were all the adults in her life out to get her, or did she just miss the invite for the "Hate on Mary" party? She was in detention. Again. Mr. Becker had caught her doodling in class instead of paying attention, (But honestly, who cared about the Gettysburg Address when you memorized it in second grade?) and he said that next time she would be suspended. Having your teacher call your parents to say that you were an inch away from being suspended was one thing, but having _Mr. Becker _call _Dominique_ and tell her you were that close was completely different. Much worse.

Not that Dominique had ever seriously injured her, goodness no, but she might slap her a few times or lock her in her room for a couple of days without food. That had happened once before. Mary accidentally vacuumed up one of Dominique's "favorite" blouses (she had thousands- how did she have a favorite?). Both the shirt and the vacuum were caput. The only way Mary had survived that was Tami throwing dried fruit and Gatorade through the window at night.

Now Mary had to write an essay about how foolish decisions and a swollen pride led to Julius Caesar's assassination. Too bad Mary didn't know anything about the guy. So far she had only written one line:

"Foolish decisions and a swollen pride led to the assassination of Julius Caesar."

Mary hit her forehead with the heel of her hand. Time was passing slowly. Mary could hear the tick-tocking of the clock hanging on the wall, the scritch-scratching of Mr. Becker's pencil on paper, and her own thoughts. Mary seemed to be left to her thoughts quite a lot. Sometimes they were confusing, sometimes they were deafening, sometimes they were depressing. But right now they were focused on Joey. Mary was remembering the highlights of their relationship (Of course, to Mary every moment with him was a highlight, but some things did stand out more than others), like when they danced at the Valentine's Day ball, or when Joey taught her to have fun while doing Domi-freak's chores, or when he dumped Natalia for her in front of the whole school.

"_Joey, please tell this _tramp_ that you didn't mean it; you were only leading her on to see how far it would go." Natalia crossed her arms and smirked at Mary._

_Mary could feel her eyes welling up. She stared at the ground furiously. How could she be so blind? Joey was a star- he could never fall for a servant like her. What did she think this was? A fairy tale? She would have scoffed if she wasn't holding back tears._

"_Natalia, you're wrong." Mary looked up in shock. "I'm in love with Mary and there's nothing you or anybody else can do about it. And I'm sick of you treating me like some prize. We're through."_

_Pure ecstasy flowed through Mary's veins as Joey crushed his lips against hers._

The clock struck 4:30. Mary looked at her unfinished essay and shoved down the panic rising in her throat. She scribbled down a couple more thoughts and slapped her paper on Mr. Becker's desk before rushing out the door.

_0000000000_

The cool evening air on Mary's face felt amazing. She was coming home late, she knew she would be in worse trouble than before, because technically she was still grounded. As soon as she rolled into the driveway, she knew something was wrong. The lights were off in the house, and it felt like the birds weren't singing their usual evening songs. The second thing Mary noticed was Bree's car, parked out by the mailbox instead of its usual spot in the garage. She looked confusedly at the house. She began to walk towards it, but was stopped by a hand grabbing her wrist. She turned and looked, baffled, up into the face of Brit.

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you," she cautioned. Now Mary knew for sure something was wrong. Both of the twins actually looked... scared, which was something she had never seen in her life.

"Why not?"

The twins looked at each other. Bree mumbled something about broken bottles, but they wouldn't say more. Suddenly, there was a scream from the house. It was not a scream of surprise, or even a scream of pain. It was a scream of fear.

Without hesitation, Mary bolted for the front door. Dominique had never given her any reason to show kindness, but Mary was not the type of person to abandon.

She wrenched the door open. The first thing she noticed was the stench of alcohol. The whole house reeked of it. Sidling along the wall, Mary noticed many broken beer and vodka bottles lying scattered on the floor. That must have been where the smell was coming from. Mary edged through the house, looking for danger.

Then she came into the kitchen. Mary cursed. What met her eyes was horrifying and completely unexpected. Dominique was kneeling on the ground, sobbing. She was holding a blood-splattered and unconscious Dennis. There was a big knife that Mary had used just that morning discarded on the floor.

Dominique looked up at Mary. She didn't say anything, just looked. The sadness that filled her eyes did something to Mary. It gave her a sense she had never felt before. It was the knowledge that she, Mary Santiago, actually held Dominique's happiness in her own hands. Now she had a choice to make. She could leave Dennis there to die, or she could save him. Simple choice.

Mary jumped into action, adrenaline coursing through her veins. She whipped out her cell phone and dialed 9-1-1. She quickly told the dispatcher the details, then snatched up a rag as instructed to try and locate the wound through all the blood. She found it. A deep cut across the forearm. She pressed the rag gently over the wound.

The dispatcher told her to keep everyone calm. Mary looked at Dominique, who seemed like she needed more attention than Dennis. She was crazy looking, wild-eyed and mouth agape.

"Everything's going to be fine, Dominique, the EMTs are on their way."

And Dominique just sat. She looked at Dennis and sat.

_0000000000_

A/N: Hey guys, I have another question for you. Are you Team Jacob, Team Edward, or another team? Or do you just hate Twilight in general? If you want to know what team I am and why, just message me.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Another Cinderella Story, but if I did I would probably take over the world.**

**A/N: Here's another chapter of Lifeline. Thanks for your reviews, it's the only thing that keeps me going at this sometimes! I promised this one would be more juicy, and it is. Oh, and the song in this chapter is "Starts With Goodbye" by Carrie Underwood. I suggest you listen to it to set the mood, just after Mary finishes her errands.**

_0000000000_**  
**

_Tick, tick, tick..._

Mary was waiting (quite impatiently) for Tami to come pick her up. She had been in the hospital with the twins for almost three hours. Two huge doctors' assistants had had to peel Dominique away from Dennis and escort her away. The girls hadn't seen her since, and that was fine with them. A middle-aged doctor had come out and told them that Dennis had a nasty incision in his right forearm, and had lost a lot of blood. He had been taken into intensive care the minute he had arrived. It would be a miracle if he didn't lose his arm.

Honestly, none of them would have cared. From the indifferent expressions the twins wore, Mary could see they didn't give a flip about Dennis.

With a bang, Tami rushed into the waiting room, Joey trailing behind her. "Oh _there_ you are!" Tami launched into Mary and gave her a crushing hug. "Are you okay?"

Mary laughed. "I'm not the one with the sliced up arm, Tami."

"I know, but something could have happened..."

Mary looked up at Joey. He smiled. "Oh, you know Tami. Always worried about nothing," he shrugged.

"What are you doing here?" Mary could tell she was grinning from ear to ear.

"Just here for moral support." Joey leaned into her. She closed her eyes, and just as their lips were about to touch, Mary heard a cough and an indistinct whisper of "slut," and jumped back. Brit and Bree were glaring daggers at her. Oh yeah. Real world.

"Anyways, Joey and I were thinking you could come over to my place and we could watch a movie or something. You might want to spend the night, anyways, 'cause the police are still checking out your house."

"Good idea." Mary grabbed her bag and walked out the door. Hand in hand with her boyfriend, heading off to her best friend's house, the prospect of not being with Domi-freak and the twins fluttered happily through her mind.

At Tami's house, the teens were trying to decide what movie to watch. It was between District 9 and Precious, but Mary didn't want to watch exploding aliens or black goo (she had had a hard time washing all the blood off her hands), so they popped in the DVD and sat back. Tami was on the floor, and Mary curled up next to Joey on the couch. In the state between being awake and asleep, she only caught snatches of the movie.

A girl who had high hopes and big dreams. She was unloved and unwanted, abused by her family and peers, and could not achieve her goals. She only wanted to be loved, to find purpose... She had a baby that she had not wanted but would do anything to keep... Mary felt a sense of familiarity with Precious's situation, and a single tear fell from her eye before she fell fast asleep on Joey's shoulder.

_0000000000_

Mary's phone buzzed in her pocket. She groaned, and silenced it without opening her eyes. She adjusted her position, then remembered where she was. Her eyes flew open. Tami was still snoring on the floor, clutching a pillow. Mary was leaning against Joey, her head tucked into his chest. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. Her movements must have woken him, because he stirred beside her.

"Good morning, beautiful." He smiled.

"Hey Joey." Mary gave him a soft, lingering kiss. Getting up and stretching, she headed off to the kitchen to find some breakfast. "What's on the agenda for today?"

"I was thinking maybe us three could head down to the beach or something."

"Sounds good to me. When should we wake Tami?"

"I'm already up." Tami walked in, her mascara smeared, bed head all over the place. In short, she was a mess. Mary smiled.

"We're going to the beach. Wanna come?"

"Yeah, sure." Mary placed toast and jam in front of her, then sat down herself.

"Okay, when you finish we can grab the towels and stuff. Can I borrow a swimsuit?"

"Sure, if you want to. I bet they've finished checking out your house though. So you can grab some of your own stuff if you want."

Mary nodded. They would head there first.

_0000000000_

Pulling into the driveway, Mary hopped out of Big Orange and jogged into the house. She was just climbing the stairs when a noise startled her. She stepped back down and peered into the living room. Brit and Bree returned her gaze, smiles wide and malicious.

"Mary dear, what are you doing?" Bree challenged.

"Yeah, you're not welcome here." Brit added. Bree elbowed her in the ribs.

"She knows that." Bree turned back to Mary. "You're lucky mother's napping. If she was awake, you'd be in for it. She blames you, you know."

Mary stared, wide-eyed. "Me? How is anything my fault? I _saved_ Dennis!"

"He wouldn't have been hurt in the first place if you had been home cooking dinner like you were supposed to be. But _nooo_, instead you were in detention. She knows about your almost-suspension, by the way. She's very angry." Mary began to edge away. "Just watch your back."

Mary hurried up the stairs silently. She grabbed a swimsuit and towel, then, in an instant of intuition, she grabbed up her old trunk. She emptied her closet into it, and placed her only photo of her mother in the side pocket. She closed the trunk with great difficulty, but finally managed it. She locked the door to her room and took the key.

Suddenly she had a thought. She thundered down the hallway and pounded furiously on Dominique's bedroom door. Then she turned and sprinted down the stairs, taking them two at a time. All she could do was hope she could get out of the house before anyone stopped her. She crashed through the door and bolted for the car, screaming, "Go! Go!" as she slammed the door. Tami floored it, but not before exchanging a nervous glance with Joey.

Then the reality of what she had done caught up with her. Mary smiled mischievously. Chuckled. Then she doubled over laughing at her little prank. May sighed and wiped a tear from her eye. Smiling, she said, "There's no way I can go back there."

_0000000000_

"Gluten-free bread... Gluten-free bread... Ah, here is is!" Mary pulled her prize from the shelf and threw it in the cart. She was at the grocery store, and had been running errands all day. The good thing about living with Joey was that he didn't tower over her like a slave driver. In fact, he didn't mind when she came home late at all.

When Mary officially moved out, she would have gone to live with Tami, but Tami's sick uncle was staying with them, and she didn't want Mary exposed to anything he might have. Mary was in a happy daze as she paid for her items and left.

She looked at her watch. 7:45. She began to hurry. It was dark and the late-November air was chilling her through her sweatshirt. She decided to take a shortcut home through a deserted warehouse a couple streets down.

As Mary walked, her thoughts were lingering over the movie _Precious_. A young woman with big dreams, dashed by an abusive family and peers. A baby forced upon her but she would do anything to protect...

Mary stepped through the broken window that she always used as an entrance. The ceiling towered above her, broken crates were strewn about. Mary's iPod was blasting music in her ears, and she was not expecting anything. She was completely caught off guard when she tripped and fell flat on her face.

"Ow." She was totally surprised by the hand roughly grabbing her leg. She screamed and yanked the headphones out of her ears. She looked, terrified, into the face of Dennis. His eyes were bloodshot, his words reeked of alcohol. "Hello, sweetheart," he slurred.

Mary couldn't move. All she could feel was terror, pure terror, as he reached drunkenly towards her. In a rush of adrenaline, she jumped up and sprinted for the exit. But she was not fast enough. She heard a crack as she broke her fall, and could not tell if the worse pain came from the impact on her head or the burning in her wrist. Her cries were muffled by a huge hand. As danger came ever nearer, closing in like a train on a tunnel, Mary could do nothing to save herself. And no one could hear her scream.

_0000000000_

They say that sometimes you have to let go of things you once loved to move on with life. That sometimes, life has to hurt and bring pain. And sometimes, that pain brings joy. Life is not full of sparkles and bunnies all the time; it hurts. No matter what delusion you're living with.

_I guess it's gonna have to hurt,_

_I guess I'm gonna have to cry,_

_And let go of some things I've loved,_

_To get to the other side,_

_I guess it's gonna break me down,_

_Like falling when you try to fly,_

_It's sad, but sometimes moving on with the rest of your life,_

_Starts with good-bye._

_I know there's a blue horizon,_

_Somewhere up ahead, just waiting for me,_

_Getting there means leaving things behind,_

_Sometimes life's so bitter sweet._

Somewhere there was music. It was sad, but anchoring enough to bring Mary back. She found she could not open her eyes, only remain and listen. Then she remembered. It came rushing back in a blast so powerful her breath was taken away. She mustered the strength to open her eyes. A ceiling. High above her. And a very small sound reminded her that her iPod was somewhere close by, playing her music.

Her iPod. It would tell her the time. Mary struggled to lift her head. No one was here. A sob escaped her lips as she felt the pain in her wrist. There was pain all over, but especially in the more obvious parts. She could never explain how she did it, but somehow she brought herself to her knees and crawled to her iPod. 10:09. She had been unconscious for a while, and Joey must be insane with worry. She struggled into her sweatshirt and stuffed the device in the pocket. And she stood. It was only by a miracle that she took a step. Two steps. Three, four. And she was moving. Slowly she made it out of the warehouse, and down the street. Slowly she made it to Joey's house (which was mercifully nearby), and when she made it through the front door, she collapsed into a heap and blacked out.

Mary didn't know if she believed in God, but someone somewhere was looking out for her.

_0000000000_

**A/N: Well, what did you think? This was pretty hard for me to write because I wanted to leave most everything to the imagination. This _is_ only rated T, after all.** **So, question number three: what's your favorite sport? Mine's football. Soccer. Whatever you want to call it.**_  
_


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own ****Another Cinderella Story****, but if I did I would probably take over the world.**

**A/N: ****I don't claim to be a medical expert, so sorry if some things don't make sense or aren't accurate. Cut me some slack. Thanks again for your reviews!**

"Oh God, oh God. Please! Help me!" Joey cried to no one. He could hear the chatter of doctors over walkie-talkies paging each other, the hum of people talking quietly, the blabbing of the news on a TV in the corner. Nothing mattered. What was going to happen? If Joey had ever needed God, it was now.

He couldn't keep the images from filling his mind, taunting him like some unseen menace. Mary collapsing through the door, small and broken. His screams as blood fell on the carpet. Unbelievable fear as the ambulance came and picked them up. Now the gut-wrenching dread of waiting to see what was happening to the love of his life.

Panic. Couldn't breathe. Breathe in, breathe out, his lungs wouldn't work. _Breathe, Joey!_ He couldn't see. The blackness was closing in, pressing him from all sides, suffocating. _Help me! God, please!_ Dry sobs escaped his throat as he fell from his chair to his knees. "I'll do anything! Anything! Just save her, please!" Then the tears came. Joey rose to his feet and rushed into the hallway, away from watching eyes.

Air. Sweet air filled his lungs as his mind cleared and his eyes opened. He approached a nurse scribbling something on a clipboard. "Miss? Do you have a Bible anywhere?" The woman looked at him with pity and nodded. She scurried into a room and when she returned, she had a small black book with her.

Joey took a deep breath and opened to a random page. It was open to the book of Matthew. He recognized it from his Sunday School days as the story where Jesus walked on water.

_Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"_

_Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"_

_And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."_

Joey took a deep breath. He knew he was drowning. Maybe all he needed to do was ask for help. Joey had never really believed in God or the Bible, chalking it up as superstition. But this seemed real enough to consider it.

A doctor in scrubs approached him. He introduced himself, but Joey didn't care about his name. "Where's Mary? How is she? Is she awake?"

The doctor led him into a room so they could talk. "Now, Miss Santiago was alert enough to explain some of her situation to us, but we gave her some pain killers that should make her tired for a few hours. She told us that she was coming home at about eight when she was confronted by a big man and assaulted. You might want to try and get any details you can from her so we can find whoever did this. It's probably not a good idea to visit her right now, but I can give you an estimate on how she's doing.

"Besides the obvious scrapes and bruises, her wrist is fractured in two places." At this, the doctor showed Joey an x-ray of Mary's hand. Joey could clearly see both breaks. "She'll probably need to keep a cast on for eight weeks. She has a concussion, and we suspect this was coupled with shock for her to be unconscious for so long. Also, we've found traces of semen in her body. Now this doesn't mean anything yet, but we'll have to see her again to run some tests to find out if she is pregnant." Joey buried his face in his hands. _I can't doubt you, God. Not right now. I can't afford to._

"When can I see her?"

"In about an hour we'll let you in. She won't be conscious, but it's the best we can do for now." Joey stood up and shook the man's hand.

"Thank you, doctor." Joey headed back to the waiting room, and to her surprise, found Tami there. She jumped up and headed over to him.

"Joey! Oh my gosh, I just got a call! What's happened? When can we see Mary? Is she going to be okay? Is-" Joey cut off her deluge of words with his hand.

"Sit down, Tami." Tami sat. Joey eased down next to her and looked at his hands, wondering what to say. "Tami," he began again, "On Mary's way home, she was raped." That was all Joey had to say. Tami burst into tears and buried her face in Joey's shoulder. Joey was surprised, but quickly grateful there was someone here to cry with him. He knew he had to stay strong, but he couldn't help but let a few tears fall as he held Tami. All they could do now was wait.

Mary's eyes opened at last. She looked around her. Where was she? How did she get here? Two totally understandable questions for someone who just woke up in a hospital to ask. She was in a bed next to a window, and outside it was dark. Mary tried to sit up. A sharp pain met her, and she plopped back down.

Her movements jerked a light brown head to life. Joey cried out, "Mary!" and immediately took her uninjured hand. Mary was very surprised, and her first reaction was to flinch. Joey jumped back, looking alarmed. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean... Did I hurt you?"

Mary shook her head. She tried to speak, but realized she could not, due to a tube down her throat. Her eyes bulged, and she looked to Joey for help.

"It's okay, that's just there to help you breathe," Joey explained. He gently took her hand. Mary looked down at herself and realized that there were tubes and wires all over her. She would have cursed if she could.

Mary didn't want to think. Memories were steadily returning, and she willed them to stop. She returned the pressure of Joey's hand with surprising strength. Tears began to flow.

"Oh, Mary..." Joey looked like his heart had been ripped in half. "I'm so sorry..."

Just then, the door swung open and Tami shuffled carefully into the room. "Mary," she choked. "You're awake." Mary could tell she was holding back. Her face was stained from crying, and she wiped her eyes. "How're you feeling?" she sniffed. Marry nodded down at monitors and shrugged her shoulders. "Oh yeah. Well, a doctor's coming to remove that tube in your throat, seeing as you're awake."

On cue, a man wearing scrubs entered and introduced himself. Mary didn't care about his name. He explained to her what he was going to do and told her he would be done in a jiffy. Mary closed her eyes and only reopened them when the tube was out.

"What time is it?" Her voice came out in a whisper.

"About six in the morning on November 30th." Mary nodded. So she had only been here seven hours. "We gave you medicine that knocked you out cold, but after it wore off you fell asleep by yourself."

The doctor glanced at Joey and Tami, then looked back to Mary. "Would you like to be alone when I tell you what's going on?" Mary thought about it, then shook her head. She couldn't face this herself. "Okay." He motioned for Tami to sit as well. Tami would have taken Mary's other hand, but it was in a cast.

"Well, your internal organs seem to be in good condition, so your heart, lungs, etcetera. You have plenty scrapes and bruises. We estimate anywhere close to five percent BSA is affected. You also have a concussion. Your right wrist is fractured in two places." The doctor showed her an x-ray image of her wrist. "As you can see, they are pretty clean breaks, not nasty at all, so you should probably only have a cast on it for eight weeks. Also," the doctor glanced up at Joey, who looked grave. "Also, we found traces of semen in your body. It doesn't necessarily mean anything, but we'll have to have a check up before your next expected menstrual cycle." Mary buried her face in her hands and wept. She heard the doctor get up and leave, and the three were left to sit and grieve together.

Joey held the door open for Mary. "Home sweet home." Mary followed him through. She had been allowed to go home later that day, after setting an appointment for next week with a Doctor Stevens.

"Ugh, the medicine they gave me makes me so tired." Mary sunk down into the couch, and flipped on the TV. It opened on a segment about a group of college students protesting an increase in student tuition. Joey pressed mute and turned to Mary.

"Mary, do you want to talk about it?" Mary turned away, her face burning with shame. "I need to know who did this. We can't let it go unpunished." Joey gently took her hand. "I won't let anything like this happen ever again. You hear me?"

Mary took a deep breath. "Dennis." Joey's eyes bugged out of his head.

"Oh God, please tell me no."

Mary looked up pleadingly. "He was drunk. I took a shortcut home through an old warehouse, and..."

Joey buried his face in his hands. Mary could tell this was a lot for him to take in. "I knew that guy was a psychopath." He stood up. "I've got to go make a call, be back in a minute."

Mary flipped on the TV and tried to forget her pain.

**A/N: So what did you think? PLEASE review, even if just to answer this question (it lets me know you people are reading this and I'm not just writing for my own benefit): what's your favorite holiday?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own ****Another Cinderella Story****, but if I did I would probably take over the world.**

**A/N: Sorry again for leaving you hanging, but I'm back! Thank you for the reviews, I love each and every one of them! ****A special shout out to hilararoula and duelgirl98 for the multiple reviews!**

_0000000000_**  
**

Mary opened the door to Doctor Stevens' office. She didn't think she could have faced this on her own, so she had asked Tami to come. Tami was being very supportive during this whole situation, just as Mary suspected she would be.

An older, red-headed woman greeted the girls with a smile. "I'm Dr. Stevens. Nice to meet you. Mary?" she guessed. Mary confirmed this and shook Dr. Stevens' outstretched hand. "And you are?" she looked at Tami.

"Tami Achava."

"You just here for moral support?" Tami nodded. "That's perfectly fine. I'll just need you to sit on this table here." She motioned toward a patients' table lined with a sterile covering, and Mary climbed up.

"Okay, I'm just going to take some blood here and then I'll need you to take this into the bathroom." Dr. Stevens handed her a small cup labeled with her name. "I assume you know what to do with it." She took a needle and carefully extracted what Mary thought was a lot of blood. Then she hopped off the table and excused herself.

When she returned, Doctor Stevens told her to wait there while she analyzed the samples.

Tami seated herself next to Mary. She gave her hand a squeeze. "I'm here Mary." She smiled and gave her friend a hug.

"Thanks, Tam. I knew you would be." The two sat in the waiting room talking pleasantly until the doctor returned.

"Okay, Mary, I checked everything out, and you came back positive." Mary couldn't believe it. No coherent thoughts were going through her head besides "_No. No."_

"We have programs that can help you. With anything from the emotional stress you're going through, to becoming a teenage parent, we're definitely here to help you, sweetie." Looking back, Mary couldn't remember anything else about their visit except one thing. Right as Mary was about to walk out, she felt a warm hand touch her shoulder. She turned around to face Dr. Stevens.

"Miss Santiago, I just thought I should tell you that you're not alone in this. Jesus loves you." Mary felt a tear escape her eye and wrapped the doctor in a big hug.

_0000000000_

"Joey, can we talk?" Joey followed Mary and Tami into the kitchen. They all sat down and waited for Mary to start. She stared at her clasped hands a long moment before finally coming right out and saying, "I'm pregnant."

She looked desperately to Joey for any sign that it was okay, that he didn't blame her, that they would get through this. Because if he didn't believe that, she didn't think she would either.

Mary got her sign. Joey stood up and opened his arms for her. Mary gladly accepted them, and finally let the sobs roll out. "Why? What did I do wrong to deserve this?" Mary choked.

"Nothing, love. Nothing at all. You know, I've been doing a lot of thinking through all this, and the more I ask myself that, the more I feel like God has something to do with it. He just seems to fit into the equation. It's like he wants us to trust him."

"Well, if he wanted me to trust in him, he shouldn't have let Dennis _rape_ me!"

Joey shushed her gently and held her to himself, soothing her by stroking her hair. He quoted a verse he had been reading a lot lately. "'And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.' Do you know what that means, Mary? God turns everything to good if we believe in him. Please." Joey was almost in tears; this was so out of character, he never begged for anything. This had to be something he really cared about.

How could she respond? She didn't want to tell him that what had happened was _not_ good, and she couldn't completely trust in a God that let horrible things happen (even if she still believed he had led her home safely after the accident).

So she didn't say anything; she just stood there and let him hold her.

_0000000000_

Time passed slowly for Mary. Day to day life was a cycle of morning sickness, dragging herself to school (mainly because she had nothing else to do), avoiding raw foods, coming home, wandering around the house, and going back to sleep.

It was hard for Mary to express how she felt to Joey. She would let him kiss her; she really didn't want to be touched, but she put up with it because she loved him. She had a feeling he could sense her hesitancy, because he had a vaguely hurt look in his eyes whenever he pulled away.

Mary had basically lost all will to move forward. She didn't dance anymore- not because of the pregnancy, but because she didn't get any joy out of it. The only thing that kept her from ending it all was the knowledge that Joey and Tami cared for her, and that she now had a child to protect and care for.

Joey had faithfully refrained from talking about Dennis. But one day, Mary could not stand it anymore. She had to know what was going on.

"Joey?" Mary tentatively approached him, watching a basketball game on TV.

"Yeah?" he turned the TV on mute. Mary sat beside him and took his hand.

"What's going on, Joey? Have they caught Dennis?"

Joey looked surprisedly at Mary. He obviously had not expected her to talk about it. "Well, it's not exactly good news. They found him and locked him up, but he escaped prison after causing a riot." Mary cursed. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry. I'm sure you noticed that the neighborhood is under constant surveillance, plus I promised I wouldn't let anything happen to you. And I won't.

Mary was shaking. She instinctively peered out the window for danger. She curled up next to Joey and clung to him like a frightened child. "What's he going to do?" she whispered.

"I don't know what he _plans_ to do, but he won't lay finger on you if I have anything to say about it." And for the first time in a long while, Mary kissed Joey first.

_0000000000_

"In short, your baby is growing healthily and you don't have any major health issues that we need to worry about." Mary looked into the face of Doctor Stevens. She was here for her four-month checkup. "Also," Dr. Stevens added with a smile, "If you want, we can now perform an ultrasound to find out your baby's sex."

Mary looked excitedly at Tami, who had been faithfully attending her appointments. Tami returned the excitement, just like always. "Do you want to, Mary?" she asked.

Mary became thoughtful. She hadn't told anyone this, not even fully admitting it to herself, but she still didn't want this baby. She knew she could never get an abortion, but the memory of how this baby happened still haunted her, and she also knew a child would constantly remind her of that pain.

She didn't planned on saying it, but it just slipped out. "No. Let us find out when it comes." She chalked it off as wanting to be surprised, but inside she knew better. She didn't even want to think about this baby, but of course that was inevitable. She felt powerless. If she couldn't even control her own body, what could she control?

The rest of the appointment went well, and they parted with well-wishes from all the staff, who they had gotten to know quite well.

When they got back to Joey's house, he greeted them with smiles. He gave Mary a hug and a peck on the cheek. "So? What's the consensus?" Mary knew what he was talking about.

"I decided to wait and find out whether it's a girl or a boy. It'll be fun."

Joey frowned playfully. "Then how do we know what color to paint the nursery?" Mary shrugged. One thing she was grateful for though was the constant reminders from Joey that he accepted this with open arms, and that he wanted this baby. Maybe that was the reason Mary had decided to keep the it, she didn't know for sure.

Joey must have sensed that something was nagging at her deep inside because he became serious then. "Don't worry about anything, me and Tami are here for you." Joey placed a hand on the slight bulge of Mary's stomach. "Let me help you Mary." She leaned her head into Joey's chest and remained there for a long moment. Then she pulled away and smiled at him.

"Well, we better get cracking if we want to set up the nursery," she said. Tami jumped up and down.

"Ooh! Ooh! I'll help! I'll help! We should paint it light shades of blue and yellow. I found the cutest furniture and bedding online, you just wouldn't believe how adorable it is!" Tami rambled on in excitement. Mary and Joey exchanged a look and laughed heartily.

_0000000000_

**A/N: Okay, so things are getting a little better. If you want excitement, just wait for the next chapter. So, the question of the day is: What's the best movie so far of 2010? There's Toy Story 3, Karate Kid, Eclipse, The Book of Eli, Clash of the Titans, Alice in Wonderland, etc. What's your fave? Or top five? Let me know!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own ****Another Cinderella Story****, but if I did I would probably take over the world.**

**A/N: Okay people, let's try to step up the reviews a little. Can we get to fifteen? I'm giving you a very exciting chapter, like I promised, and this is probably going to be the last one. So here you go.**

_0000000000_

Mary laughed "Come on, Joey! Tell me! Where are we going?" she asked for what seemed like the hundredth time.

Joey smiled. "I'll tell you when we get there!" Their car pulled up to a large brick building. Walking in, Mary recognized an auditorium that Joey had once performed in. There was no one there besides them. Joey helped Mary up onto the huge stage, and pointed a remote at a stereo that had already been set up nearby. Can't Help Falling in Love by Elvis Presley began to play, making Mary smile. This was their song. Mary wrapped her arms around Joey's neck as he pulled her closer. They began to sway to the music, just looking in each other's eyes. Joey spoke first.

"Mary, no matter what happens, I consider this baby ours and I'll do anything to protect it. You know that, right?" Mary smiled, feeling tears pricking her eyes. She nodded.

"Yeah, I know. I love you, Joey."

"I love you too." He let go of her and fished something out of his pocket. He got down on one knee and opened the small box in his hands. It was a silver ring, with three small diamonds. Mary's eyes bugged out of her head.

"Joey..." she whispered.

"Mary Santiago, I love you more than I have ever loved anyone. I want to stick by you in the good and in the bad. I want to be there, by your side." Now Joey's eyes had tears in them. "Will you marry me?" he choked.

Mary could not say anything, so she just nodded. Joey rose and slipped the ring on her finger. "The three diamonds represent our family, all of us." Joey bent down and planted a kiss right where their young son or daughter was growing, before pulling Mary in and giving her a lingering kiss. He began to pull away, but Mary held on tight to him and returned it. The music ended, but their kiss did not. Mary was lost in herself, forgetting her cares for the moment.

Before she knew what was happening, Mary heard a sickening thud and Joey jerked away from her. An anguished look crossed his face before his eyes rolled back and he fell to the ground.

"Joey!" She bent over him, looking for any way to get immediate help. Before she had time to react, someone had grabbed her from behind and threw her down. Mary stared, terrified, into the bloodthirsty eyes of Dennis. She couldn't breathe, couldn't move, couldn't think.

Mary instinctively put her hand on her swollen stomach, as if to protect her unborn baby from harm. Dennis's eyes followed and he growled. "W-what do you want?"

He smiled wickedly and produced a large knife from behind his back. "Hello, sweetheart, how nice to see you again."

Mary would have run, but she had to protect her child and her fiancee as well as herself. She positioned herself between Dennis and Joey, but didn't risk standing up. Terror was consuming her. She had been here before, and she didn't want to go back again. Again she spoke, "Why are you here?" she was surprised at how brave she sounded.

"You mean you don't know?" Dennis lunged at her, and she closed her eyes, expecting the blade to plunge into her body. But the blow did not come. Instead, Dennis roughly grabbed the front of her shirt to force her to look at him. Mary could definitely smell alcohol on him. "I'm here because of what you did to me!" Mary was shocked. What _she_ did to _him_? What about what he did to her?

"I've gotta secret for you." Dennis leaned in closer to whisper, "Me and Dominique'r married." Mary couldn't honestly say she cared, but then again she didn't know how this affected her, so she paid attention. "Got 'er wasted on wine coolers," he slurred. "Y'know what? When y'found us in th' bleeding an the knife, I w's gonna kill'er myself, but got so drunk I had an' chopped my nearly hand off." Dennis laughed.

"I did it for th' money, o' course. Married 'er and was gunna kill 'er for th' money," he sighed.

Mary was pretty sure he hadn't a clue what he was saying. He must have had some grasp on reality, however, because he continued, "An' then you done me arr'sted, and holed me up in thare, so I jus' knew I had ta do somthin' abot that." He laughed his gargling, demented laugh. Mary cringed, afraid of what he was gonna do. Dennis leaned down as if to touch her, and she screamed, lashing out at him. This got him going. He growled and pulled the knife out again, sticking it up by her throat, but somehow not breaking skin, even in his uncoordinated state.

"Im'a gut you and yer precious baby too. Get ready to feel pain, precious." Tears were rolling by this time and they just came harder as she thought of the movie Precious. Now she knew exactly what that girl had felt like. Abused and dirty.

Mary was beginning to give up hope, beginning to give in and die, when all of a sudden the pain stopped. She opened her eyes. She felt the tightness in her chest loosen slightly as a pinprick of light penetrated the darkness surrounding her. There was Joey, standing above Dennis with knife in hand, holding his own head and scowling, hatred and fury evident in his every feature. What surprised her the most was not that Dennis was afraid, however; what was most surprising was the gash in his side, streaming blood.

Joey leaned down next to his victim. "Don't ever touch Mary again. If you do, I promise you'll get much worse than this from me." Dennis didn't respond, which seemed to satisfy Joey. He threw the knife across the floor, and looked over at his sobbing fiancee. He rushed to her side.

Mary buried her face in Joey's shirt. He wrapped his arms around her and held her. "The police are on their way, Mary, the police are on their way."

Then something halted Mary's tears. Her heart stopped. She looked down at herself and saw that she was sitting in a small pool of liquid. A sudden sharp pain in her abdomen made her cry out. Joey seemed to catch on immediately. "Oh, my God," he whispered. Mary could tell from the way he said it that it was a plea for help, not an oath.

The next thing Mary remembered was the police rushing in, taking Dennis away on a gurney, then lifting her onto one herself. She remembered pleading for Joey to stay with her, and him roughly refusing an EMT who tried to tend to his wounds. He did not leave her side.

_0000000000_

Joey wasn't allowed in. He screamed and thrashed, but in the end he was dragged out of the maternity ward by two strong men; and now they were watching him carefully, trying in vain to console him.

A hurried looking nurse bustled into the waiting room and gave the strong men a nod. They departed. The woman looked at Joey. "Son, Miss Santiago wants to see you. She's even threatening to 'hold in' her baby until you come, which could be potentially fatal for her and the child, so-" She didn't need to tell him twice. He shoved past her and burst into Mary's room.

She was a mess. She was drenched in sweat, face beet-red, crying out with every contraction. She looked desperately at Joey and grasped his hand, practically crushing it. "I'm here, Mary. Don't worry, everything's going to be fine." Joey did not think everything was going to be fine. Mary was giving birth at seven months. He was no expert, but he knew that that was not right.

Joey looked at the doctors rapidly firing stats and instructions at each other. He heard only snatches of dialogue. _"stress-induced labor," "respiratory assistance," "C-section." _Another woman gently put her hand on Joey's arm.

"Excuse me, can I ask you to come with me, sir? This girl's going to be fine, the doctors are doing everything they can." Joey looked at Mary, who they had sedated. She still looked a mess, but at least right now she was not in as much pain.

He got up and followed the doctor out. She sat him down outside and looked at him sympathetically. "Miss Santiago is in labor at almost thirty weeks, which is much too short a time. This does mean that the baby can survive, but he will have some health complications and will have to remain at the hospital for a while so we can keep an eye on him. They are having difficulties with delivering the baby naturally, so we are going to perform a C-section. This is the safest way for both the baby and Miss Santiago."

She saw the worried look that Joey still wore. "And don't worry about the cuts on her face, a couple of stitches and they'll heal right up. They're not too deep." Dennis had tried to maul Mary but failed epically.

Two hours later, another doctor found Joey in the hospital's meager cafeteria downing a cup of coffee. "Mr. Parker?" he addressed Joey formally.

Joey perked right up. "Yes?"

"You can visit Miss Santiago now. The C-section was successful, and she just woke up, so she'll be a little groggy." Joey thanked the doctor and made a bee-line for Mary's room.

_0000000000_

Mary glanced up at her fiancee, who looked very concerned for her. She felt small in the hospital bed, she had IV's hooked up to one of her arms, and her lower abdomen was wrapped up. She didn't wonder why he was worried. "Hey," Mary smiled.

"How you feeling?" Joey went to her side.

"Oh, you know, just woke up from surgery, haven't seen my own baby yet, nothing much." Mary smiled. "They told me Dennis is in a prison hospital. His trial is in a month, and he's going to need a good lawyer."

Before he could respond, a nervous-looking doctor stepped into the room. He was holding a clipboard and seemed to be clinging to it for dear life. He introduced himself and told Joey to take a seat. His glasses slid down his nose and he pushed them back up with sweaty hands. "Miss Santiago, there's something you should know about your baby. She was born before she could fully develop, and that caused complications." He ran a hand through his sandy hair. "We don't think she'll ever have use of her legs." Mary didn't respond. "Another thing is, she's blind." Mary gaped.

"What?" her voice cracked slightly.

"Are you sure?" Joey seemed to be silently begging for him to say that it was all just a misunderstanding.

The doctor nodded his head sadly. "We think that the stress Miss Santiago went through caused her to go into labor early. The important thing though, is that she can still live a pretty normal life. A lot of people like her have. We have programs we can hook you guys up with that many of our patients find very informative. Just let us know if you need anything else. A nurse will bring the baby in shortly."

The doctor left and Mary and Joey were alone. Mary scooted over and made room for him on the bed. He sat next to her and wrapped his arms around her. Joey quietly hummed a lullaby, which soothed her nerves.

She closed her eyes and clung to him, who had been her lifeline for the past nine months. Whenever she had needed him, he had been there. Even before all this started he was there for her. When she had wanted to kill herself after learning she was pregnant, she didn't, because she knew someone loved her and would miss her. Joey was her hero, and she knew she would not be here without him.

Then a young nurse walked in, carrying a pink bundle. She handed her over with a smile and departed. Mary took a deep breath and looked into her child's eyes for the first time. She choked down a sob. What she was looking at was one of the smallest people she had ever laid eyes on. This baby had big brown eyes that were focused on someplace far off, wrinkly pink skin that seemed way too big for her tiny body, and rose colored lips. Mary stroked her dark wispy locks with a smile, then buried her face in the pink blanket and sobbed.

"Would you look at that. It's a girl, Mary. She looks just like you."

"She looks like my mother," Mary added. "I think my child should be named after her, don't you?" Joey nodded. "Erica Parker..." Mary tested the name, letting it roll off her tongue. "Middle name?" she wondered.

"How about Madeline? After my mother," Joey suggested. Mary nodded in happy agreement.

Just then, a teary-eyed Tami came in. "Oh goodness..." she whispered.

"Tami, meet your goddaughter, Erica Madeline."

_0000000000_

Mary looked at her reflection in the mirror. After one final nod of approval, she took Tami's hand. "Erica's okay? Are you sure the babysitter knows to play her music for her, and to turn her over before putting her to sleep?" Tami laughed.

"Mary, stop worrying! Everything's fine. Lighten up, this is your day. Now, come on, the music's starting."

Mary took a deep breath. _Well, it's now or never..._ Tami opened the church doors and walked down the aisle in her golden knee-length dress. Mary waited a moment, then followed. As Mary stepped lightly on the petal-strewn aisle, she feasted her eyes on the handsome man standing at the end of it. Joey's face lit up at the sight of her, and he took her hand when she reached him.

There comes a time in every girl's life when she needs to depend on someone else instead of herself. Sometimes that person lets her down. But there is a rare occasion when that person stays beside her, even when she's lost everything; when the only thing they have to gain from her is simply being in her presence. That person is her best friend. That person is her true love. That person is her lifeline.

_0000000000_

**A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who stayed with my fic til the end. It means a lot to me, and your reviews made my day! So here's the last question: How would you rate my story, on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the best and 1 being the worst)?**


End file.
